What are assumptive questions? 

Assumptive questions are questions that assume that you will get what you want. 

When I first started selling, I was very hesitant to ask assumptive questions because I was afraid of coming across as pushy and aggressive, which was contrary to my nature and temperament. 

For example, instead of directly asking, “How about we meet again next Monday at 9 a.m.?" I would have said, “I can make myself available next Monday. Let me know if that works for you.” 

Another example - instead of directly saying, “Why don’t I send you our proposal and put something on paper?”, I would have said, “I was wondering whether it’s a good time to share our proposal.”

The intent of those direct and indirect questions was the same, but the younger me asked questions in a non-assumptive, passive way, which was a reflection of the inner state of an inexperienced salesperson nervous about asking for a commitment from a top executive. The younger me wasn’t sure if he was going to win this deal. Neither was he fully convinced that he should win that deal. It all shows up in the way he communicated and handled himself physically. The result? Assertive and assumptive questions led to more actions and faster closing times. 

Why are assumptive questions useful?

Personally, I think the greatest benefit of asking assumptive questions is to remove the doubts of rejection out of your brain. You simply assume the buyer will agree with your recommendation instead of doubting yourself before opening your mouth. The mindset of believing a positive outcome can change your body language and speech, which communicate a large amount of signals to the buyer. When you lack confidence in your questioning, the buyer can sense it and will subconsciously lose confidence in you. Confident and experienced salespeople welcome the chance of rejection as a part of their job. So, do not be afraid to be assertive when you ask assumptive questions. What can go wrong? The “worst” thing to happen is an objection, which we will cover in length in our other blog posts. Objection handling is an essential part of sales.

How do I ask assumptive questions?

First, you should assume that the buyer will agree to your request. You should use words that are confident and action-driven, such as “I recommend…”, “Tell me…”, “Let’s…”, “I’m going to need…” and so on. Then, you should just wait for the buyer to respond with a yes or no. Do not over explain or try to fill the silence with a long speech, which normally weakens your ask. Lastly, you have to be prepared to handle objections, as they are unavoidable parts of the path to a successful sale. 

When do I ask assumptive questions?

The most effective time to ask assumptive questions is when you move the deal from one phase to the next. The common phases of a selling process include prospecting, lead qualification, presentation and demo, lead nurturing, negotiation, and closing. When you want to tell the buyer what you want, it’s a good time to ask assumptive questions. It certainly feels vulnerable because the buyer may reject what you want. That’s not a good feeling. But the reality is that in order to close a deal, you will need to handle objections sooner or later. So, let’s get those questions out and move to objection handling.

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